To be eligible for nomination, each nominee's first single or album has to be at least 25 years prior to the year of induction. It means that the 2018 artists had to release their first official recording no later than 1992. For some artists, this is not their first time being the nominee of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this is the first appearance for Dire Straits, Kate Bush, Nina Simone, Rage Against the Machine, Judas Priest, Eurythmics, The Moody Blues, Radiohead and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Ballots will be sent to more than 900 artists, historians and members of music industry who will evaluate various factors including the nominees' musical influence on other artists, their career in the music industry and their body of work. Superiority and innovation in their style and technique will also be taken into consideration.

Fans can also vote for their favorite artist starting from October 5 until December 5 by visiting rockhail.com. They need to login to their Facebook account or e-mail address to vote, and the voting is capped to one vote a day.

The 19 nominees will be cut down to five names, and the result will be announced in December. The top five artists will then be inducted at the ceremony in Cleveland on April 14, 2018. HBO will broadcast the ceremony later in the same year.

In last year's Hall of Fame, Nile Rodgers, Joan Bales, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Yes and ELO were inducted. Rodgers won an Award for Musical Excellence.